Hi guys, i recently got some 18650 lights for me and my dad since we were mainly using the cheapo zoomies you can get at almost any gas station and old led lenser tac torches that both broke so i picked up 4 samsung 30q flat tops, and both an astrolux s1 (blf a6?) in 3d and astrolux c8 in 3a and let him have whichever one he wanted for fathers day and i got the other. he ended up liking the c8 more for hunting the open field and i liked the s1 more for around the house and in the woods so we both got the light we wanted with 2 batteries and we are both hooked on lights now especially with how much smaller and brighter the lights are compared to our other lights. im wanting to get some rechargeable batteries for the various lights we use around the house so i plan on getting a 4x pack of both aa and aaa eneloops and i was wondering if the nitecore d4 we have would be suitable to charge them on or if i should get the pack with the included charger.
does anyone have any recommendations for an aa/aaa edc light to replace the bushnell trkr 50 lumen light i edc? the s1 is a bit too big and digs in on the inside of my pocket when sitting. im not looking for anything fancy just something short with either tail/side switch, simple modes like the s1 with low, medium, high, and a hidden or no strobe since i never use it and nothing insanely bright thats around the brightness of the s1 medium on the 4 mode so around 150-200 lumen and sub $15 would be nice.
Sofirn SP10[AB] and/or Thorfire TG05 for side-clickies, Jetbeam Jet-I if you like twisties, all AA.
EBL 14500s on Amazon are pretty cheap but good, with excellent customer-service. Lots more oomf for AA lights. Those are Li cells and will fit any 4-bay charger like the d4.
Lights are brighter with with 14500s, but that just lets you use ’em on medium or low for longer runtime.
sweet, thanks for the recommendations guys, i ended up sanding off the "wings" of the s1 clip and that was the main thing that made it uncomfortable when sitting then just ended up removing the clip altogether and im going to try and edc it over the next few days and see if it small enough for me to use. i still got the eneloops though and they should be here by wednesday, after getting the 18650 im fully in on rechargeable batteries now.
I have the SP10B and its moonlight is a bit too low, and the rest of the modes are fine by themselves, with 'low' being 25lm and med and high hardly being different, turbo either at least on AA. With a 14500 it can reach 500lm but I don't think its sustained.
I reviewed a nitefox K3, its a nice AAA light if you don't mind cool white. For about 2x the price you can get a nicer tinted thrunite ti3 with moonlight mode.
If you want, you can get the A6's 18350 tube to make it shorter, but its about 3x less capacity for 2x less than the volume now. Don't forget to reserve the FW3A https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/45538
Actually, the Lumintop AA Tool is also in an Amazon Lightening deal until about 1:30 EDT, Jul 8th. Like the SF14, it starts out in Low (then goes Med -> High), but also includes a diffuser and twisty switch. The Lumintop is noticeably smaller than the SF14 - especially when using the twisty switch.
The On/Off logic for both of these fine flashlight is the same: If Off ≥ 4, sec come up in Low. Off for < 4 seconds comes up in next mode. Therefore, if you fully activate the switch rapidly, it comes on in the next mode each time it comes On.
If you miss the Lightening Deal on the SF14, you can pick one up at the Official Sofirn Store on AliExpress (a friend to BLF) right now for $11.90 (but it will takes several weeks to arrive).
The Thorfire TGO6S is another good, inexpensive 14500 flashlight option IMHO and can often be found on sale at less than $10, before tax. The TGO6S starts out High then goes Med →Low→MoonLight. I often give them as gifts (along with a protected 14500 battery and a reliable charger), and they are always appreciated.
I often use the unprotected EBL 14500 batteries for my personal use because they are a good value, and I am Li-ion battery aware enough to not let them get undercharged (below about 3 volts), and I charge them with extra care (since they are suspiciously inexpensive). I also don't expect to get the same longevity out of them as I would a premium Sanyo 14500, for example.
“Lightening” as in lightening my wallet? Wellp, it did just that. Just went’n’got one… tnx!
Only one per customer, apparently. Must be taking lessons from GB. :smiling_imp:
I got the AAA bunny w/219, and never use it because it always starts in medium. Triple-checked this to make sure that if it ain’t got memory, that it starts in low, and it does… kewl.
Be aware that if you activate the switch rapidly on either the Tool AA or SF14 (< 3-4 seconds between clicks), it will appear they have next mode memory. The TGO6S is the same way. Otherwise, the Tool AA and SF14 always come On in Low, and the TGO6S always comes On in High. No mode memory.
Kinda pist that I could only get 1. Had to find something else to pad it out to >25 for free shipping. In fact, canceled an order they were still sitting on (also padded out to meet the minimum) and put one of those items in today’s order.
Would’ve much rather ordered 2 and been done with it. They were only at 15-used (ie, 85 unclaimed) at like 10min before it closed.
The Nitecore D4 is very good in my opinion (I have one for quite a while). It’ll charge the eneloops to 1.50+ volts. It does a better job of charging NiMh batteries than my recently purchased Folomov A4 (termination voltage on my NiMhs were 1.35volts). The D4 was sub-par for charging (max of 375 mA when 4 18650s are inserted) samsung 30Q 18650’s.
Yeah i found that out quickly when the 30qs got here a week and a half earlier than the flashlights, i charged two of em up because i was expecting it to be here in less than a week but there was a delay for some reason through fedex and the charger was at 375 mA with 4 cells so i took 2 of em out. I left the other 2 without charging since i read on the forums to not leave them fully charged too long without using since it could reduce lifespan. i think im holding off on buying a aa/14500 light for now, the s1 carried perfectly without the clip today and didn't snag or poke at all. I am looking at some jetbeams though, love the style of them and the anodizing on the e40r and they are what got me into flashlights after seeing them but the ui looks like a bit of a pain and they are a bit more money when not on sale. i read where bwings managed to mod his e20r but it'll be a long time before i even think about trying to mod anything like that, i'd imagine it would be a lot more complicated than doing something on a light like the convoy s2.
For the AA light, I would suggest, if you don’t mind waiting, Enogear AA Stainless Steel. Very nice construction and shorter than most tail clicky switch AA lights despite it being a AA tail clicky light.
As of last I checked last night it is still under $15 (I paid under $15 shipped). It does have TIR optics rather than reflector.
The astrolux lens started rattling today. I could see that the glass wasn't even touching the bezel so i took the bezel off and tried tightening the retaining ring to see if it would bring it up so the reflector would push the lens and o ring up to seal it up better but no dice, the retaining ring wouldn't tighten a bit and i didn't want to get wild with it so i just left it and managed to find a o ring that was the same size but a little bit thicker from a old broken flashlight and it worked although it's a bit thicker the o ring isn't perfectly centered. Only downside is there's a couple of white specks inside the lens from when it was apart but i can live with it and i don't want to open it up too much and risk damaging the led, that little plastic piece that sits on the bottom of the reflector is awfully close to the led so i hope those white specks are not from them rubbing. Still loving the light though, used it rabbit hunting last night in the field and i could spot them easily around 70-100 yards out, any longer and my dad used his c8.
It’s interesting. The BLF A6 (Astrolux S1) and the Astrolux C8 (in the same tints you got) were also my 2 first flashlights since joining BLF. Great lights.
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered an Enogear Stainless Steal AA/14500 flashlight in each tint (4500K & 6500K). I paid $14.90 for each shipped. Couldn't pass it up. Of course, it may take awhile to get here coming from China. I probably won't remember ordering them when they arrive.
